The natural duration of the current interglacial

8th January sees Nature Geoscience publication of study led by Chronis Tzedakis

Human emissions of carbon dioxide could defer the next Ice Age according to a study published in Nature Geoscience led by Professor Chronis Tzedakis (UCL Geography).

As summarised in the New York Times, the research examined similarities between the current warm interval between ice ages and a particular point, around 780,000 years ago, during a past warm period known as “Marine Isotope Stage 19”. Using a variety of methods, the authors conclude that a new ice age would have been likely to begin in about 1,500 years if the concentration of carbon dioxide had remained at pre-Industrial Revolution levels.